adminMaria Chiguvari
LEGENDARY novelist, playwright and actor, Aaron Chiundura-Moyo, has urged young students to create a culture of reading books to improve their knowledge and reading skills.
Chiundura-Moyo said teachers still have an important role to play.
“Teachers used to read books to the primary school pupils, especially interesting stories and this was like sitting around a fire, like listening to either a grandmother or an uncle.
“This motivated the young ones to grow in them the desire to read for leisure as this gave them a break from hard materials.
“So, the reading culture was introduced to the young ones at an early stage from both school and home.
“Compare this to today’s teachers, these encourage pupils and students at all ages to read passages from a given text in order to pass a given examination.”
He added:
“A generation that reads for a particular examination will not find time to read for leisure and these are the generations which have killed the reading culture.
“I am happy your paper allows you to promote a reading culture by giving us the space to talk about reading culture, which then calls for the production of more story books.
“I don’t buy the idea that reading culture has been killed by social media, films, videos and dramas.
“These do have a little contribution as compared to the reasons stated above.”
Chiundura-Moyo reckons pupils are now overwhelmed with school work.
“Our school system must not overload pupils and students with many subjects like is the case right now. “A human mind needs rest for it to function well, so the fewer academic subjects the better for the student who should be allowed to read for leisure during lessons, even once a week.
“The media has to keep playing this major role of promoting reading culture in different ways.”
Quizzed what he was doing as a writer to ensure that we restore the reading culture, he said:
“Not an easy question indeed, as a writer I can force myself to write against many odds but I have no power and means to force or rather persuade readers to re-create the lost reading culture.
“I no longer bother myself about those who do not bother to read my books.
“I worry much about sharing the content in the book so I have to go out my way and reach some of the would-be readers by letting other media forms carry the said messages to their audiences.
“The worst problem I have faced in my writing career is piracy, especially the people behind it.
“However, as for challenges I have worked with some very bad publishers who nearly destroyed the writer in me.”
Online Reporter